Events

2012 Sammy Slideshow

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Volunteers who participate in all aspects of service at Samaritan House gathered September 20th, 2012 for Samaritan House’s Annual Volunteer Recognition Event. Volunteer, Aandy Ly, graciously donated his time and talents by creating the above video celebrating our 2012 Volunteer Honorees.

With the motto “Neighbor Helping Neighbor,” Samaritan House’s 2,000 annual volunteers represent caring individuals who are dedicated to helping their community. The wide variety of services donated by volunteers range from preparing and delivering food, to providing translation services, to area professionals who provide free medical and dental care.

At the Volunteer Recognition Event, Sammy Awards in 30 categories honored volunteers who have shown exemplary effort in support of Samaritan House programs. Recipients of the 2012 Sammy Awards were:

Travis Bennett, Administration

Detzaira Macias, Client Services

Genette Yogi-Kornfield, Development

Miriam Counts, Finance

Jon Froomin, Holiday

Maria Nadel, Kids Closet

Dr. Brian Sheppard, San Mateo Dental Clinic

Andrea Haynes, RDH, San Mateo Dental Clinic

Ness Morales, San Mateo Dental Clinic

Dr. Linda Lee, Redwood City Dental Clinic

Trish Ballard, RDH, Redwood City Dental Clinic

Mario Nunura, Redwood City Dental Clinic

Michaelian Endodontics, Redwood City & San Mateo Dental Clinics

Dr. Pardis Kelly, San Mateo Medical Clinic

Dr. Michael Drinnan, San Mateo Medical Clinic

Norma Berliner-Salz, San Mateo Medical Clinic

Beverly Gaines, San Mateo Medical Clinic

Ed Miller, San Mateo Medical Clinic

Dr. Celso Ravelo, Redwood City Medical Clinic

Claudia Schinn, Redwood City Medical Clinic

Hillside Church, Safe Harbor

Walter Mlynar, Safe Harbor

Brad Ferris, Safe Harbor

Richelle Gibson, Safe Harbor

Lily Ryan, Breadbasket

Helping Hands, Breadbasket

Wendi Ellis, Dining Room

Ed Flank, Food Pantry

Kathryn Taylor, Kitchen

Temple Beth El, Kitchen Weekend

Chris Panos, Mobile Meals

St. Bartholomew Church, Mobile Meals

Hillsborough North, Wee Care

Hillsborough West, Wee Care

Shoreview United Methodist Church, Worker Resource Center

Elena Chiong, Special Programs

Samaritan House also presented itshighest honor, the Kelly Award, to long-time volunteer Betty Johnson in recognition of the many hours of extraordinary service and considerable expertise that she has given to our organization and the community.

Generous people who donate their time are our greatest treasure. We simply could not accomplish all that we do without the talent, compassion, and energy of our volunteers!

Continuing the school’s long-standing tradition of promoting community service and creating opportunities for student leadership, San Mateo High School (SMHS) will be conducting its annual food drive to benefit Samaritan House and Second Harvest Food Bank from November 16th – December 3rd, 2012.

The student’s canned food drive set a Guinness World Record in previous years, and this year student organizers are hoping to meet or surpass the school’s previous performances.

The students at SMHS exhibit tremendous energy and enthusiasm for the donation drive they take part in each year. Talking with Leadership Teacher and Activities Director Sara Catalli, it becomes apparent just how much this donation drive means to the students. Sara talks about how many of them spend long hours in front of grocery stores collecting food from shoppers. It’s amazing to realize that SMHS collects literally tons of food in just two weeks.

Here at Samaritan House, the SMHS Canned Food Drive represents an extremely important part of our holiday food program. Each year during the holiday season, we distribute approximately 400,000 pounds of food to our clients and the community. Without the efforts and generosity of both individual donations and wonderful organizations like SMHS conducting these massive donation drives, we would not be able to provide the level of service that we do.

If you are interested in donating to and voicing your support for SMHS’s student-driven cause, you can bring your canned or non-perishable food or monetary donation directly to San Mateo High School (located at 506 N. Delaware Street, San Mateo, weekdays from 7:45 am -3:15 pm). Monetary donations are tax-deductible and checks should be made out to “Samaritan House.”

Weekdays after 5pm and weekends, students will be collecting donations at local supermarkets throughout the Peninsula – from San Bruno to Palo Alto. For more information about ways to donate in-person or online, contact San Mateo High School’s Community Service Commissioners at smhs.communityservice@gmail.com.